Draw-bar attachment for car-couplings



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

H. O. WILLIAMSON 8v H. FRIES. DRAW BAR ATTACHMENT FOR GAR COUPLINGS.

Patented Mar. 9,1897.

(No Model.) 2 Sh eetsSheet H. C. WILLIAMS ON 82; H. PRIES.

DRAW BAR ATTACHMENT FOR GAR UOUPLINGS. N0. 578,590.

Patent-ed Mar. 9, 1897.

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heavy bolts or rivets 1.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY O. \VILLIAMSON AND HERMAN PRIES, OF MICHIGAN CITY, INDIANA.

DRAW-BAR ATTACHMENT FOR CAR-COUPLINGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 578,590, dated March 9,1897'.

Application filed September 8, 1896. Serial No. 605,139. (No model.)

T0 at whom, it may concern-- Be it known that we,1-IENRY O. WILLIAMSONand HERMAN PRIES, citizens of the United States, residing at MichiganCity, in the county of La Porte and State of Indiana, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Draw-Bar Attachments for Car-Couplers; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to a novel construction in a draw'bar attachmentfor car-couplers, the object being to provide a device of thisdescription which will not work loose and get out of repair and whichwill enable the use and simultaneous action of a plurality of springs;and it consists in the features of construction and combinations ofparts hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating our invention, Figure 1 is ahorizontal longitudinal section of a car-coupler rovided with a draw-barconstructed in accordance with our invent-ion, taken on the line 1 1 ofFig. 2. Fig. 2 is avertical longitudinal section of the same on the line2 2 of Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and 4 are transverse vertical sections of thesame on the line 3 3 and 4 4, respectively, of Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 5 isa horizontal longitudinal section of a modified form of our invention onthe line 5 5 of Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a vertical longitudinal section of thesame on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a detail elevation of theguide-castin gs we employ.

Referring now to said drawings, A indicates the draw-bar of acar-coupler which is suitably mounted between the draft-beams B of acar. To the inner end of said draw-bar A the ends of a loop 0 aresecured by means of Mounted within said loop 0 and abutting against saidinner end of said draw-bar A is what we term a follower 2, which isadapted to be acted upon by the double spiral spring 3. Said follower 2is provided with a recess 4 in the center of its inner face, in whichthe end of what we term a plunger 5 is adapted to be received and whichprevents said end of said plunger 5 from spreading or fringing. Mountedwithin the other end of said loop 0 and abutting against the same is afollower 6. A box or casing '7, also mounted within said loop 0, abutsat its inner end against said follower 6 and is provided at its otherend with an inwardly-extendin g peripheral flan ge 8, again st which theinner end of said spring3 abuts and serves to hold the same firmlyagainst said follower 6. The enlarged end 9 of said plunger 5 issituated within said'box or casing '7, and between the same and saidfollower 6 a spring 10 is mounted, said follower 6 and said plunger 5being provided with center lugs 11 and 12, respectively, by means ofwhich the posit-ion of said spring 10 is determined.

Rigidly secured to the inner faces of said draft-beams B areguide-castings 13, each of which comprises a plate provided withrecesses 14 and 1 5, in which the followers 2 and 6, respectively, areadapted to move. The said recessed portions of said plates are sunk intosaid draft-beams B and. are thus firmly held against displacement fromany shock to which they may be subjected. Said castings are secured tosaid draft-beams B by means of the socketed bolts 16, the heads of whichlie in pockets 17 in the middle portion of said castings, and by meansof the bolts 18, passing through openings 19 in the ends of saidcastings. Said plates are provided with outwardly-extending flanges 20on their lower cesses 22 and 23 adjacent said recesses 14 and 15,through which bolts 24 pass, by means of which supporting-plates 25,upon which said followers 2 and 6 move, are secured. It will be notedthat the said recesses 14 and 15 form shoulders in said plates whichlimit the movement of said followers, so that when shunting the follower2 will not move farther than until it comes in contact with the rearwardend or shoulder of said recess 14, and this distance is so regulatedthat the springs 3 and 10, which are simultaneously compressed by thisoperation, are not acted upon or compressed to their fullest extent, butwould still be capable of further compression. Thus if the springs arecapable of two inches compression before the coils of the same lie uponeach other the movement of the followers would be limited to one andthree-fourths inches, so as never to entirely exhaust said springs. Inthis manner the life of each spring is prolonged to the fullest extent.It will also be obvious that any shock to which said casting 13 may besubjected by the driving of said followers against the shoulders at theends of said recesses will be directly transmitted to said draft-beamsand thus relieve the bolts 16 and 25 of any strain. We are aware thatthere are various constructions patented in which the entireguide-castings are sunk into the draft beams and are provided with asmall shoulder at each end, but we obtain a great advantage by ourconstruction in that our shoulders are of greater extent and that anyshock is administered simultaneously to two shoulders in eitherdirection, whereas heretofore such shock had to be borne by only oneshoulder of less extent. This has always caused such shoulder to wearaway very quickly and subjectedthe bolts by means of which said castingswere secured to the shock, and these soon sheared or became loose. It isalso our object to make the distance between the dead-wood 26 and theinner face 27 of the coupler-head coincide with the stroke of thefollowers 2 and 6, so that an excessive shock in shunting would bedivided equally between the dead-wood and the rearinost shoulders ofsaid recesses 14 and 15. It will be obvious that in pulling the shockcannot be as great as in shunting and can be easily borne by the forwardshoulders of said recesses.

It will be obvious that the plates 25, supporting the followers 2 and 6,will also support the loop (J, which rests thereon, but to furthersupport the latter we have provided straps or bars 28, which are securedto the lower faces of the draft-beams B by means of bolts 29, upon themiddle portion of which said loop is adapted to rest. Said bars areslightly depressed at their middle portions, and at their ends areprovided with upwardlyextending flanges which are adapted to engage theouter faces of the draft-beams.

The operation of our device is very simple and almost obvious so that abrief description will suffice.

In shunting or coupling two cars or two parts of a train the coupler isalways subjected to a shock greater or less, according to the speed atwhich the parts to be coupled move and according to the loads theycarry. This obviously moves the couplers inwardly against the action ofthe springs. Thus the end of the draw-bar transmits its motion to thefollower 2 and plunger 5 simultaneously, while the follower 6 retainsits posit-ion, being immovable in this direction. The spring 3 wouldtherefore be compressed against the head of the box or casing 7, andtherethrough, so to say, against the follower 6, While the spring 10would be compressed between the enlarged end of the plunger 5 and saidfollower 6. These parts being movable with relation to the loop 0, thelatter will move in unison with the draw-bar, to which it is secured,and not receive any portion of the strain. In pulling, said loop 0 willengage the follower 6 and 'draw the same forward against the action ofsaid springs 3 and 10 as the box or casing 7 moves with said follower 6and transmits the pressure thereof to said spring 3. Said box or casing7 is guided in its movement by the said middle portions of said castings13, which prevent sidewise displacement, while the loop 0, in which itis contained, prevents its Vertical displacement. The spring 10 impingesagainst the enlarged end of said plunger 5 and through it against saidfollower 2, so that said entire load is always borne by either of saidfollowers 2 and 6. We desire to call particular attention to the factthat by means of our construction the loop 0 is subjected to strain onlyin one direction, and that the direction is always the one least subjectto sudden jars and shocks. This is a very important feature, as it isapparent that where bolts are subjected to hard strain in two directionsthey will soon work loose and shear.

In Figs. 5 and 6 we have illustrated our invention as applied when threesprings are employed, and it will be noted that this number can beincreased with equal advantage. This construction coincides exactly withthe construction hereinbefore described, with the exception that a box30, containing a spring 31, is mounted between the draft-beams behindthe guide-castings 13 and abuts at its end against a block 32, mountedbetween said draft-beams B. The said box is preferably secured at itsforward end to the rear ends of the said castings 13 by passing thebolts 18 therethrough, and is further held against vertical displacementby means of the lugs 33, which are sunk into the inner faces of saiddraft-beams. A plunger 34:, provided with an enlarged end 35, impingesagainst said spring 31 and passes through openings 36 in the end of saidloop 0 and the follower 6, its other end being adapted to enter a recessin the enlarged end of said plunger 5 for reasons heretofore given. Inthis construction we have illustrated the follower 2 as being providedwith a sleeve 37, in which the end of the plunger 5 is adapted to fitand about which a single instead of a double spring 3 is trained. Eitherconstruction may, however, be employed, according to the election of thepurchaser. The operation of this construction differs slightly from theforegoing in that in shunting all three springs 3, 10, and 31 arebrought into action, as will be obvious, while in pulling only thesprings 3 and 10 are acted upon. The loop 0, however, is subjected tostrain only in one direction, in the same manner as in the construc- IOOIIO

tion shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Ve desire also to call attention to thefact that the loop we employ greatly exceeds in strength the shaftsheretofore employed in various draw-bar attachments, and that bysubjecting it to strain only in pulling it can never spread, which wouldobviously be most likely to occur were it subjected to strain inshunting.

We claimas our invention 1. In a device of the kind specified, a drawbarprovided with a loop rigidly secured thereto, a follower within saidloop and adapted to be engaged by the rear end of the same, a box orcasing within said loop and abutting against said follower, an openingin the forward end of said box or casing, a plunger having an enlargedrear end adapted to fit within said casing provided with a shank adaptedto pass through said opening therein and abutting at its other endagainst a follower adapted to be engaged by the rear end of thedraw-bar, a cushion interposed between the head of said casing and saidforemost follower, and a cushion within said casing interposed betweensaid enlarged end of said plunger and said rea-rmost follower,substantially as described.

2. In a device of the kind specified, the combination with a draw-barhaving a loop rigidly secured thereto, followers within said loop atopposite ends thereof, a box or casing within said loop abutting againstsaid rearmost follower, a plunger abutting against said foremostfollower and having an enlarged end adapted to fit within said casing,and cushions interposed between said head of said box or casing and saidforemost follower and between said enlarged head of said plunger andsaid rearmost follower, of guide-castings rigidly secured to thedraft-beams of the car and provided with shoulders adapted to limit themovements of said followers to hold said rearinost follower rigid uponimparting a buffing impetus and to hold said foremost follower rigidupon imparting a draft impetus, substantially as described.

3. 111a device of the kind specified, the combination with a draw-barhaving a loop rigidly secured thereto, followers within said loop, a boxor casing abutting against said rearmost follower, a plunger abuttingagainst said foremost follower and having an enlarged end adapted to fitwithin said casing, and cushionsinterposed between said head of said boxor casing and said foremost follower and between said enlarged head ofsaid plunger and said rearmost follower, of draft-beams provided withgains on their inner faces adapted to receive two recessed portions ofguidecastings secured to said inner faces of said draft-beams andadapted to receive said followers and limit the movements of the same ineither direction to limit the extent of compression of said cushions,and transmit the strain thereon in either direction to said draft-beamsat two points, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a device of the kind specified, the combination with thedraft-beams gained at two points on their inner faces and adapted toreceive guide-castings having recessed portions adapted to enter saidgains, of a drawbar attachment comprising a plurality of cushionsarranged in tandem between two followers adapted to en t er-saidrecessed portions of said guide-castings, said recesses being limited inextent to less than the limit of compression of said cushions andadapted to limit the movements of said followers in accordancetherewith, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

HENRY O. WILLIAMSON. HERMAN FRIES. WVitnesses:

WALTER J. OGDEN, HARRY M. BARNES.

